Saturday – Gorges du Verdon, Part II

“Into the Valley of the Verdon rode the 500…

Theirs not to question why,

 Theirs but to gather material for a blog entr-y…”

Now as gorges go, this is the big one. A previous entry  described it from above ( in fact from the D23 Route des Crêtes shown on the following map).  This time we were going the tougher pedestrian route shown in red … The Blanc-Martel path.

It’s somewhere between 12 and 17km long, depending who you believe, but that doesn’t really prepare you for it. I mean, look at that map – other than the entry and exit climbs down into / up out of the gorge, it just follows the river – so it must be pretty flat, right ? 

HAH !!! That’s what they WANT you to think. Alternative facts lie in wait for the unwary traveller. With pointy teeth,  uneven surfaces, deceptive bends, and a fanatical rejection of any horizontal option.

We had pre-booked tickets on a shuttle bus which dropped us at the start point ( La Maline ) for a 10:00 kickoff.

Finally made it up to the Point Sublime bus stop after about 6hrs30 – and in desperate need of an Orangina. Some stunning scenery, but not as many views of the water as we’d expected – and it was tough going .

Slept well, mind you.